The Student Housing Company Reviews 

STAY AWAY!!!!!
If Catherine House gets a chance to grab your money you bet they’ll do it! Their motto of your well being is their priority is a facade when it comes down to it.

I have spent two years here due to their convent location next to all my lecture halls and I got lucky with room size and room location. I have friends that have had extremely tiny rooms (they only show the big ones with the big windows on open day ) there are rooms which stay dark 24/7 so be warned if you want to risk it go ahead!

HOWEVER location is the only redeeming quality of Catherine House. Staff including managers seem to be ill equipped in customer service and treat you like children. Euan and Zoe are arrogant and talk back if you need help from them they also go out of their way to cause inconvenience to you ( I was told by Zoe she waited a long time to let me into my room when I got locked out because “some people ask her too often” but since this was my first time she was sorry she did that to me? Lack of customer service experience and also pure Idiocy to tell a customer this kind of thing.

(newer staff seem better) If any problem needs to be solved they will treat it like a joke until you get your parents involved they can’t help but brown nose them.

Showers block all the time, if you live on a top floor better be fit because lifts are poor and break all the time, all my flat expected cleaning services in the kitchen as it seemed advertised this did not happen.

I will not be going back to Catherine for my final year due for the reasons above and also because of the way they have treated students during the Covid-19 pandemic, still thinking about making a big profit while students struggle to pay off their rent despite all other accommodation (including private) allowing students to terminate their contracts early.

No communication , just want to take your money, students sent home by the GOVERNMENT and the student housing company still want to take students rents !! Also making them pay for bills when not even there. Will offer a FULL refund if you book with them next year, bribery I feel . Would not recommend anybody uses this company - Liverpool accommodation, do not use THE STUDENT HOUSING COMPANY

TSHC were do I begin, firstly they are not aware of circumstances that students may have such as Financial difficulty's they are only taking advantage of the students and are making them pay for a accommodation they are not living in at all 50% of 2.2K is still a lot for room you are not living in. Secondly, they only care about profits if they can suck you last penny they would do it without blinking an eye, they don’t make students feel secure and safe in these difficult times, they are just keep pressuring us to pay them because they are selfish and ignorant. Thirdly, they do not respond to loads of peoples emails and leave them be, this shows that they truly dont care about their students as whole and only want their money, they are very lucrative nothing more. So do not stay with them because if another pandemic happens they will do the same thing. They are mot trust worthy

Just poor, wouldn’t wish for hitler to stay here

Absolute sh*thousery
They should be ashamed of their unfair treatment of students, first ripping thousands of students across the uk off amd before the covid 19 drama, they rehearsed fire alarms about 10-15 a week for the last 7 months.theyre not organised in any shape or form. If you wang ti have a bad year at uni youll move here!!

The company doesn’t care about students’ wellbeing at all.

Bailey Point In Bournemouth (student housing company) only want your money and have no concern for the well-being of their tenants. Forcing tenants to pay rent even if they don’t live there, and as you might be aware, there is a global pandemic - so universities have gone online and many students have returned home (as advised by the government) for their own safety.
Asking for intrusive information of medical conditions, evidence of how much student loan they have etc only to give students the option of either paying 50% if they are not living there... so £1000+ for a room they can’t use - with no promise of being able to access said room, or 100% off rent if they choose to rebook with them next year. Like anyone would want to re book, never mind have the chance to as many students have already chosen and paid for their next year accommodation elsewhere. There is discrimination as although this “50% offer” is available, they are letting few out of the contract with not paying anything.
There is barely any communication from TSHC, they are ignoring and neglecting their tenants with complete disregard for their mental and financial well-being. There are many student housing companies that have let their tenants out of their contract because If you are not staying, then you are not paying; sounds obvious to some but I suppose The Student Housing Company are only concerned with money.

They only run after our money.
Heaters always breakdown and take weeks to be fixed . Reception is useless they can’t even manage the posts had my posts put in the wrong postbox twice . They never reply to their emails or phone calls please avoid this student Rip off company

If you want to have a fun time at university, do not live at an The Student Housing Company (TSHC) residence. The accomodations are unsociable. TSHC fails to create an environment where you can settle in and meet new people. If I could give one piece of advice to students looking to have a fun time at university: do not stay at an TSHC residence. The best option is an accomodation owned by your university.

The standard of accomodation is poor. I have never slept in a more uncomfortable bed. Springs dig into your ribcage as you try to sleep. The door handle of my bathroom fell off. The shower would flood. Hot water regularly cut out. There was a weird ringing sound in the kitchen. Hobs would turn off mid-way through cooking. The oven came with one shelf missing. Our fridge broke. Twice. Only one of the windows opened in the kitchen.

If the accomodation was more sociable and friendly, then the low standard of services would not be an issue for me. However, it is poor accomdation that also lacks the buzz and excitement of University provided halls. It is not explicitly a rule stated by TSHC but the use of speakers is prohibited. Any music played even at a low volume will warrant the entrance of a security guard into your flat. There is more attention on things like this rather than security risks to students. My friend once woke up to a random, lost, drunk, middle aged man banging on her door. He was agressive, incoherent and frightening. Preventing trespassing like this needs be a top priority for any accomodation provider.

There is so much I could write about the shocking response the company has given to the Covid-19 pandemic. I will keep it short. The company has been unclear, unresponsive and unjust. First, providing a "case by case" response that was very much not case by case. Taking sometimes a month to reply, the company offered students a unanimous response. One of the solutions to students financial burden was entrance into a prize draw to win tickets to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. Students stood up to this kind of treatment and rallied the support of many MPs and moral advocates. Students sent a formal letter to THSC, stating their financial desperation and asking for release of their contracts. THSC ignored this request. Despite students unable to fulfill the contract due to government emergency measures.

The response to the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the lack of care that TSHC has for its student tenants. This lack of care is also reflected in the environment of their buildings. It is a private, money hungry business. University is an incredible experience. Do not go TSHC. Do go university owned accomodation. Have an incredible experience

They have dealt with the covid-19 situation terribly and they are clearly writing the few positive comments on here because obviously they are FAKE! They have constantly taken advantage of students since the lockdown and not included them in the loop of what is going on. They have only responded to students via the "portal" instead of the people running the building replying to emails, it is like they are hiding. They have bribed us by offering 1 week free stay in another of their accommodations in another country for next year except who knows if it will be safe to travel by then! They also tried to bribe us by entering us in a competition to win tickets for Toyko olympics (I mean seriously..) rather than offering something helpful such as money off. I have now seen they are offering a measly 50% off for services that people are not using which is completely UNFAIR!

The staff within the accommodation are the only redeeming aspect of this company.

It's by far the most expensive option, extremely bad value and problems do not get fixed. There is a problem with homeless people and local teenagers just walking into the building and causing havoc.

The common areas are dirty, they told us that there would be a cleaning service but 3 months in they just abandoned that. I keep everything clean anyway but it was nice to have the bins taken out purely because the bin store is infested with RATS.

Their response to the coronavirus crisis has been shambolic and neglectful. To even try to get anywhere you have to upload extremely personal financial, medical and family details all of which must be letters from offical sources.

This company is nothing but a money grabbing machine. It's registered in a tax haven and was owned by the finance minister of Singapore. It's currently going into liquidation so it can forgo debts and continue to fleece students.

Awful company to be living with, I have had no help and felt often out of the loop while being with them, don't make the same mistake I did

They’ve been really supportive during the Covid-19 Pandemic, giving myself and others reduced or no rent.

The staff at my particular accommodation were really nice, they always get any maintenance issues fixed ASAP. They also hold events such as Dominos pizza nights and gaming events.

They made my university experience a lot better with having such a warm and welcoming community of staff and students.

Do not book with The Student Housing Company, Do not book with The Curve in London

So first and foremost, in terms of the companies dealing with the pandemic, it has been abysmal. We got offered a support portal help deal with our 'individual' cases back on March 25th. They first tried to offer us accommodation stays in their residence abroad in Madrid and the Tokyo Olympics, despite most air travel being canceled and the Olympics being canceled. This was a ridiculous offer since it supported in us in no way at all, it is comical to say the least. After getting over 30 MPs involved with the matter the TSHC withdrew these offers and we are now awaiting for new offers. They have said that we must accept new offers by May 5th and despite it being May 1st we have not received such an offer. There has been almost no contact with staff and a dozen of my emails and phone calls were ignored. The communication has been non-existent. It has been almost 6 weeks since students applied for help and the company is still yet to get back to us. I advise you stay at Unite Students, The Host or IQ Residence, or basically any other private UK student accommodation facility that is not TSHC, as they actually care about their students and don't exploit them for money. Despite students complaining they have had COVID-19, have parents who are out of work or are care workers. TSHC have acted as if these things are not going on and are stalling with updating their company policy. Do not stay here.

As for the accommodation itself. There was a lack of hot water many times during the year and when there was hot water, you could not just the shower nozzle without being burned. Student common rooms were filthy and never had anyone clean them. The gym was dirty and was never cleaned. Worst of all, they started construction works 5 months before the tenancy was over. Every week for the weeks leading up to the coronavirus outbreak we had someone enter our rooms at least twice a week. There was no privacy whatsoever.

I want to keep this short and brief even though it seems like I have written an essay. But please do not stay here. Saying that the living conditions and service were atrocious is an understatement. Please spend your money on somewhere that will look after you like Unite Students, Scape, IQ accommodation or the host. TSHC are money hoarders.

Kind Regards

They’re trying to force us to pay for rent when we are not currently staying there due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Essentially forcing us to pay for a service that we are not using. All the while people choosing to stay with them going on to next year are being offered benefits while the rest of us are left in the dust and forced to pay. They're turning this virus into a marketing tactic and are trying to exploit vulnerable students.

Ablett house in Liverpool was ok other than the post and parcels being a nightmare all the time and rats everywhere downstairs near the back gates! Staff very nice other than quite abit of invasion of privacy. Not only this but the way the pandemic situation was handled was shocking. Eventually got 50% off rent for people who lived there but this was after weeks of getting in touch with mp’s and newspapers as they refused to release us from our tenancy. They even went as far as to ask people for evidence of being at home and asking for proof of parents or people being ill even death certificates. Honestly would not recommend at all :( it’s a shame but they do not care about there customers.

Distraught at the way they have handled this situation.... giving some of there builds 100% off while others 50% ... what a load of rubbish...

Horrible company, inconsiderate to their tenants. I lived in Bailey point Bournemouth for not even 6 months before being told to leave due to coronavirus. The building to start with was rushed to be built, meaning everything was finished SO CHEAP. Everything plastic, paper thin walls, paper thin floors. Shutting block B doors just because they couldn’t monitor them ... even though they should have though about that when building the place. Multiple break ins, rude staff. And the fire alarms ... OH THE FIRE ALARMS. Constantly going off any time of the day, annoyed is an understatement. Honestly just don’t bother with any of the student housing company’s student lets.

They are being inconsiderate despite unprecedented circumstances, and are not allowing students that have moved out entirely and not lived at the accommodation and thus not using any of the utilities or facilities out of their contracts. They have misled us and are asking us to sign documents that are clearly incorrect. They are offering 50% off 'as a gesture of goodwill' and 100% off for anyone who rebooks, which clearly puts final years at a disadvantage as we could not rebook even if we wanted to. Why did we have to all submit personal data so they could 'look at our circumstances individually' only for them to go back on that and not consider people's individual circumstances?

I would not recommend The Student Housing Company to anyone and wouldn't even give it one star - the facilities and utilities are subpar and the office staff are never there (at least not at appropriate hours when students would actually be returning from university - how are you expected to collect a parcel within 5 days when you have 9-6 lectures and they are only open Mon-Fri 9-6 and very occasionally at the weekend?!)

ADDITION: As part of our contract, we are supposed to get our kitchen cleaned thoroughly twice a week but the cleaners only come in briefly, have a gossip, take out the bin bags but don't replace them, and do nothing else. (You can hear everything and it is evident nothing has been cleaned). It is appalling that basic hygiene is ignored by the cleaners - and our kitchen was actually one of the tidier ones (we all cleaned up after ourselves - but we still needed the sink and floors cleaned, and the hob/oven and worktops). Very dissatisfactory.

I stayed with The Student Housing company this academic year 19/20, I had a new building so you’d expect everything to be running smoothly.....oh how I was mistaken. The block was like a construction site for half a year, the gym was close for a periods of time over the course of the year. Cinema room at the beginning of the year was non existent, a leak apparently in a brand new build....dunno how that happened but hey ho we got on with it. The amount of issues we had was unexplainable and the untimely manor that it took for the repairs to take place was not up to any companies standards. In my room particularly there was this mysterious ticking noise that was keeping me awake, after about 4 months they finally fixed it. There were a few more issues with the shower turning into a foot spa every time I had a shower and the fact there was a massive noise from the ventilator everytime it turnt on, which was usually 7am in the morning! COVID-19 is one big balls up, bit like how the Student Housing Company acted in the way they are dealing with it. Empty rooms, big Boris staying we must, “stay at home protect the NHS, save life’s” but yet us vunerable students are asked to give up the little money they have available to them. People say reputations are built from 20 years of hard work, but can be destroyed in 5 minutes, well Student housing company have destroyed theirs in just 2 minutes. Apart from all these issue everything was top notch